Immortal
by Awesome Rapidash
Summary: Can the ability to live forever really be all that great? Witch Princess reflects on this as she watches the world pass by around her.


_**A/N:**__ Can the ability to live forever really be all that great? Witch Princess reflects on this as she watches the world pass by around her. _

_This story is dedicated to__** char2happy. **__Happy B-Day Char!_

_**Immortal**_

A soft spring breeze drifted across Forget Me Not Valley. A lone figure stood before freshly turned earth, the wind ruffled her long sandy blond hair. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she looked down at the simple stone marker. _"Another life gone…" _

After a few more minutes had passed she turned and walked out of the small cemetery. With her friend's passing it meant that she would now have to return to the cramped confines of her hut near the Romana Villa. It also meant that she was once again alone in the world.

"Humans have such a short lifespan," she muttered to herself as she headed in the direction of the now unoccupied farmhouse. "I don't even know why I associate with them!" she spat, pushing the wooden door of the home open. Inside she quickly proceeded to go about the business of collecting her belongings. As she did do she came across a picture framed and hung upon the wall, a picture of two women, both with blond hair smiling for the photo. Suddenly her anger diminished, replaced by a feeling of sadness for the loss of her friend.

"You didn't care that I was a witch…" she spoke almost at a whisper. "And you paid a steep price for your friendship with me. Shunned by those foolish villagers…. It made it difficult for you to continue, but yet in spite of this you remained my friend. Determined to show them that I wasn't what they thought I was."

The Witch Princess reached up and carefully removed the picture from its place on the wall, placing it gently atop the other articles in her bag. Moving about in the house more memories began to flood into her mind. Memories of past love, of past hate and of missed opportunities. She was the Witch Princess, the last of her clan… alone in this world.

**XXX**

_Claire had changed that. She could still remember the day just as if it had happened yesterday, not the fifty or so odd years ago that it had. She was feeling mischievous and had decided to play a prank on the newly arrived farmer girl. Slipping quietly into the girl's barn, she was about to cast a spell on a cow when a voice questioned her from behind. Irritated she'd whirled around, rage in her eyes to see a petite woman standing in the doorway. _

"_Hey, what are you doing in here? Are you thirsty, would you like some milk?" she'd asked innocently. _

"_Foolish mortal, I am the Witch Princess! Do you not tremble in my presence?" _

_Claire had given her a strange look. "Um, you're a witch? You don't look like a witch to me." _

_Caught off guard by this comment, Witch Princess was momentarily speechless. "So then, what exactly is a witch supposed to look like?" _

_The blond farmer simply shrugged her slender shoulders. "I don't know… green skin, a pointy black hat, and they cackle." _

"_Fool, that's a misconception! A lie propagated by mortals to scare them into believing that all witches are evil creatures." _

_Claire smiled. "If you say so…. Um… what is your name?" _

"_Call me Witch Princess mortal. You will never be worthy of hearing my actual name!" _

**XXX**

But none of that had deterred Claire, in fact it seemed to cement her resolve to befriend the mystical person known as the Witch Princess. And despite being relentlessly harassed and threatened by the townsfolk, she stood her ground. Chipping her way through her tough facade to get to the inner person that she seemed to feel was trapped inside.

Witch Princess had been just as surprised when she realized that she'd begun to welcome Claire into her life. No longer did she try and chase the petite farmer away when she visited with her basket of freshly picked red grass and the occasional toadstool. Her resolve to remain distant was fading fast and she wasn't really trying to stop it.

_A knock on the door of her hut… _

_Irritated Witch stood and walked over to the door and flung it open, expecting to find a horde of villagers ready to run her out of the valley. Instead there stood a snow covered Claire, her basket held in shivering hands. _

"_Today is your birthday and I wanted to give you a gift," she spoke cheerfully. "May I come inside?" _

_Witch shook her head slowly and stepped to the side, allowing the slender farmer to enter her home. "My birthday you say? How do you know of this?" _

"_You told me, remember? You asked how old I was and when I answered, I also told you my birthday. You told me that you were born two days before the end of the year. That would be the twenty ninth of winter… or today!" _

_Witch nodded. "So I did… but a present you say? No one has done that since my mother…" _

_Claire smiled. "Well, it's about time then huh?" She handed the basket to the girl in front of her. "This is just for you."_

_Witch Princess opened the basket and was shocked to see several red grass plants and two poisonous toadstools. "But how… these plants don't grow in the winter?" _

"_I harvested and stored them," the farmer answered. "I figured you could use them in one of your potions or something." _

**XXX**

Time passed and as it did so, a bond of friendship was cemented between the two women.

"_Remember when I told you that you would never be worthy of knowing my real name? Well, I was wrong. You are indeed worthy Claire. So from this point onward, you may call me by the name given to me by my mother. My name is Hikari and it means light in the language of my clan." _

_Claire smiled at her friend. "Thank you for trusting me with such an honor Hikari. I'm truly privileged to have a friend like you." _

**XXX**

But the passing of time had another, less desirable affect. As the years passed Hikari remained as she had for hundreds of years, but for Claire, time was not on her side. In the waning days of her life, Claire rarely visited, confined to her bed the farmer was nearing her last day. This troubled Hikari and she'd searched to remedy her friend's condition.

Even when a spell had been found, Claire had refused it, telling her friend that her passing was like reading the final chapter in a book. Everything and everyone had to have an ending.

Claire passed away on a warm spring night; Hikari was at her side when the farmer whispered her last words… words of thanks and hope for her immortal friend.

**XXX**

After making sure that all of her possessions had been removed from the home, she walked to the door and paused, wondering if the farm's next occupant would accept or reject her. Would she even want to try, to have to suffer through the heartbreak of losing yet another friend? Or worse, to have to say good bye to someone she loved?

Stepping outside into the cool evening air, she closed the door and headed back to her hut. In the morning another day would begin, just as it had and just as it would always for her… Immortal meant that unlike her friend and those before her, there was no ending to her existence. No final chapter and seemingly no conclusion to the never ending loop of life that she was stuck in.

Back at her hut she opened the door and walked inside, placing the basket on the table. She stepped over to the other end of the blue colored cloth covered table. There a potion book was open to a well worn page. Without hesitation she began to work on the preparations.

_A spell to end an immortal life… _


End file.
